Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job

I heard about this book while attending the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University - not because it's my dream to be more financially sound, but because I have a dream that I want to follow. Jon Acuff works with Dave Ramsey, and there are a lot of references to him in the book. Jon Acuff writes a very enjoyable and thoughtful book on pursuing your dream. I thought he made an incredibly wise choice with his first chapter in which he instructs the reader to NOT quit their job...just yet. In Quitter, Jon Acuff does more than tell the reader to reach for the stars, he explains how the reader can change their life by making changes to their mindset. We all dream about just quitting our job and diving into our dream 110% and then being happy, but Jon grounds us...he reminds us that we have bills to pay and commitments. Kinda hard to pay your bills with "my dream is close to becoming a reality!" I really enjoyed Jon's wit and wisdom and I felt myself nodding in agreement at many of the frustrations that he faced on his route to his dream. Some complaints that I've seen about this book say that it doesn't actually tell you how to follow your dream...well that couldn't be further from the truth. True, there is no "do this, this, and then this, and you'll be happy" chapter. Rather, Jon shows us how the reality of the world must be married to our dream or else both will come crashing in on us. There's nothing romantic about being a literal starving artist. Jon explains how you can have success in pursuing your dream. I won't give away all the ideas - that wouldn't be fair to the author - but his ideas are rooted in being responsible, working hard, and figuring out exactly what our dreams are and what we can do to achieve them. For the complaints that this is not a "get your dream quick" book...Jon lays it out quite clearly...maybe you will achieve your dream when YOU are actually ready for it. You can't go from playing softball at the office party to hitting 40 homeruns in the MLB overnight, can you? That stuff doesn't actually happen. You can meet smaller challenges and build up the knowledge, skills, and abilities while staying in your job until you have everything you need in place. There are also complaints that this is a book for writers. That's not true either; Jon simply uses his experiences of blogging and writing to provide insight into pursuing your dream. While I haven't yet reached my dream, I definitely feel in a much better place to reach it. This book is full of wisdom, not just for getting to your dream, but for improving your life and figuring out what is really important. In summation, if you feel like you should be doing something completely different with your life, and your job is just a means to pay the bills, then this book is for you. You'll learn a lot from this book about how to get there.

The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because it made me feel like a big dumb jerk a lot. Okay. Fine. I revised my rating. I went back and changed it to five stupid stars. After all, it's not Acuff's fault that I've had such a sucky attitude toward non-dreamy employment. It's mine. Go Jon, yay. But seriously... God's been working on me about my attitudes toward my dream, my job, my expectation of spousal provision, and the financial irresponsibility of pursuing my dreams as I've been pursuing them, for several months now. This book came along at the right time for me: a time of decision; a time when going from part-time to full-time at my job has become not only an opportunity, but a necessity. I needed this book. So thanks God, for inspiring it, thanks Jon, for writing it, and thanks, Alan, for blessing me with it. Although the message of QUITTER hit me pretty hard in some areas, it also reasserted some of the truths God has been impressing upon me these past months. But it wasn't all a butt-kicking festival. This book also encouraged me. It drove home the truth that the dreams which drive and fulfill me creatively don't have to be sacrificed at the alter of necessity -- they just have to be pursued with wisdom, rather than with irresponsible abandon. I've been a dreamer and a planner of dreams all my life. Unfortunately, my "plans" -- if you could call them that -- involved a lot of dreamy pinnacle points and not a lot of grit. (Sometimes, my pinnacle points even included bright flashing lights, sequins, and a groovy soundtrack. Yes, they were awesome. But.... Hmm. Maybe I watched a bit too much DANCE FEVER as a kid. Whatever.)In any case, my grandiose plans for achieving my dreams gave little credence to the meat-in-the-middle that feeds the journey toward the dream. I was willing to work my butt off on the dream but I wanted to work on ONLY the dream. I resented my part-time job because it took time away from my writing. I resented my bills. I resented my house. I resented the orthodontist. I was carrying around so much resentment and festering with such a sense of righteous entitlement (because I am so talented and unappreciated, you know) that it constipated my dreams. I hit the wall with my writing. I began having anxiety attacks. I was poisoning myself ad nauseum. My dreams were inflated and anorexic at the same time. And, because I was chasing them irresponsibly,well, I guess you could say my dreams needed to pass some gas. (Wow. I really didn't intend to use bathroom metaphor when I began this review. Huh.Does that mean I'm full of... bathroom stuff??? Maybe. But stick with me here.) So between God's nudging and Jon Acuff's book, QUITTER, a can of reality beans was cracked open in my heart and it kicked me (and my sucky attitude toward my day job)in the tail. Luckily, I was alone most of the time while I was reading. So... is this a book for writers? Yes. And anyone else who has ever dreaded their day job or dreamed a dream. So read it already. But -- and pay attention here -- I recommend reading the first four or so chapters individually -- not more than a chapter a day. Take time to really think about and soak in how this applies to you and your dream. Eat your reality beans, digest them, and set them free, as it were, in small doses. You may want to read ahead, but don't give in to the temptation. If you, like me, need to smell the stink you've made with the attitudes you've held toward your day job before you can appreciate the all-you-can-eat Texas Roadhouse steak buffet of your dreams in motion,then this book is best read slowly, over the course of a week or two-- or more. This is a great book. It's a challenging and encouraging book; a great addition to your home library and a great book to hand out to a friend who is unhappy in his/her current job. Perspective is a beautiful thing. And I am now happy that, although I have mentally typed my resignation numerous times over the past 18 months, most days I can now smile, fall in like with my job, and say to myself, "My job funds my dream." (Jon Acuff, QUITTER)

Das Buch Quitter, welches mir den Weg zeigen will von meinem Tagesjob zu meinem Traumjob, beginnt damit: Kündige nicht! Oder wenigstens noch nicht. Jon Acuff hat Erfahrung damit, falsch zu kündigen. Von der Einladung zu einem Nachtessen für seinen Chef, um die schlechte Nachricht zu überbringen, bis zum ins Büro geworfenen Fresszettel mit anschliessender Flucht hat er alles durchgezogen. Doch das Buch endet nicht dort. Es zeigt auf, wie ich mit Geduld und Hartnäckigkeit auf die richtige Art von einer Beschäftigung, welche mich ernährt, zum Traum meines Lebens komme. Absolut lesenswert. Klar und in einfachem Englisch geschrieben, lohnt es sich für jeden, der sich Gedanken macht, ob nicht mehr am Leben sei als "Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living". Kindle: Quitter Buch: Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job

Well worth buying, this book stopped me in my tracks and made me change direction - for the better. Full of down-to-earth advice. Highly readable and recommended.

Excellent read giving me a good perspective on how to work towards independence while keeping a ft job.

The concepts are always on point and applicable.

The most helpful book about defining and following your dreams that I have yet met. Clear and wise advice given in an easy to read and chatty manner. Thanks Jon.